[NFBSF] Fwd: June Meeting Minutes
Laura Millar
laura at lauramillar.com
Wed Aug 13 01:50:40 UTC 2025
Please see below and attached for the minutes. Included this month are
details for paying dues and an explanation of the significance of bell
ringers. The story of bell ringers is included both in the minutes and in a
separate attachment.
*June 2025 NFB of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Meeting Minutes*
1. Call to Order
2. Attendance: 21 total
1. Lisa
2. Bobbi
3. Laura
4. Christina
5. Daveed
6. Sara
7. Rochelle
8. Sagar/Sugar
9. Mike
10. Cindy
11. Serena
12. Jeff
13. LM
14. Sheela
15. Steven
16. David
17. Monica
18. Marco
19. Jenny
20. Sherry P.
21. Tarryn
3. Reports
1. Secretary’ Report- Bobbi
i. The
May minutes were approved with the amendment of removing Christina’s name
as a duplicate from the attendance list.
ii. There
are ongoing issues with all of the NFB list serves due to updates to the
server. As a result, some messages end up having erroneous characters in
them. The issues also mean users can not go the the list of all list serves
and subscribe to a list.
iii. In
order to avoid sending out messages with extra characters, one work around
is to attach the text of your message to the e-mail in a Word Document.
2. Treasurer’s Report- Sara
i. $Our
current balance is 980.90. This reflects an increase of $10 as a result of
one member paying dues over the last month.
ii. Dues
and donations can be paid/made utilizing the following information:
1. If using PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle: Sara Hadsell, 510-387-0766,
2. If using PayPal, select that you are paying a friend, rather
than purchasing an item. This will avoid undesired fees.
This option may
only be available when utilizing PayPal on the computer.
3. The address for sending checks is: Sara Hadsell, 585 9th
St., Oakland, CA 94607
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/585+9th+St.,+Oakland,+CA+94607?entry=gmail&source=g>
2. Dues are $10 and paid annually beginning in January
4. Presidential Release Recap- this is a recap of the chapter version of
the presidential release
i. Virtual
registration for National Convention is $10 and available until July 13th.
Register at:
https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/national-convention-virtual-experience
ii. The
Access Technology Affordability Act was introduced in the Senate and the
House. The ATAA would provide a $2000 tax credit that blind people can use
towards the purchase of access technology. Contact your members of Congress
in regards to support ATAA.
iii. A
website accessibility act was introduced in the House (HR 3417). A Senate
version will be introduced soon. Contact your members of Congress in
regards to support this legislation.
iv. The NDB
has partnered with Eno search AI. This will allow you to search product
listings and ask specific questions.
1. NFB members get a $10 promotional credit
2. In order to access this special offer: Login to your
membership portal, go to membership tab and find membership benefits
3. You can also call and test it at, 1-888-SHOP-GPT
4. This company will be in the exhibit hall at national
convention
v. The
Independence Market website is up again and can be accessed at:
catolog.nfb.org
5. Legislative & Advocacy Report
i. There
are currently 2 bills in the House to support children receiving vision
screenings
ii. Chewy
is introducing Script Talk for the medications of your pets.
iii. AB 1250
is a piece of state legislation that seeks to eliminate the need for people
with permanent disabilities to recertify for paratransit services.
iv. Governor
Newsom is proposing the re-introduction of asset limits for people with
disabilities receiving benefits. The limits would be $1000 for single
people and $3000 for couples. Reach out to your representative in the CA
state assembly regarding this issue.
4. Chapter Business
1. There will be no chapter meeting in July. Our next chapter meeting
will be Tuesday August 12th.
2. Outreach & Education Committee Recap and Announcements
i. May
Recap: thank you to everyone who attended our May social gathering at
Brenda’s in Oakland and to Lisa and Laura for planning it. Roughly 15
people were able to attend.
ii. The
Outreach & Education Committee will have their monthly meeting on Tuesday
June 17th at 6:30PM. The July meeting will be will be Tuesday July 15th at
6:30PM.
iii. The
June social gathering will be a picnic in San Francisco at Delores Park on
June 21st at noon.
iv. The
July social gathering will be a Banquet Dinner Party in order to listen to
the banquet address from National Convention. It will take place the
afternoon/evening July 13th at Lisa’s home in Mill Valley. Stay tuned for
details.
5. Member Announcements
1. There will be a rally outside of LightHouse in SF on Thursday June
12th from noon to 2pm
2. There will be a Decertify LightHouse Rally on Friday June 27th (Helen
Keller Day) from 10am to 2pm outside of the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkely
6. Discussion about LightHouse
7. Bell Ringers & Birthdays- Here is an explanation of Bell Ringers.
This story/article is from the 1992 Kernell Book. Kernell Books were
collections of stories published by the NFB. The article pertaining to bell
ringers can be found below. The entire Kernell Book can be found here:
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/books/kernel1/thefreedombell.html
*THE FREEDOM BELL- *by Joanne Wilson
"Let freedom ring" is a theme that runs through American Democracy from the
founding of the republic to the present day. It has meant many things to
many people, but to the staff and students at the Louisiana Center for the
Blind it means the chance for a full life the rights (but also the
responsibilities) of first-class citizenship. It means the chance for a
job, a home, and the opportunity to give as well as take.
The founder of the Louisiana Center for the Blind is Joanne Wilson. In the
mid 1960s she was a student of mine, struggling with the problems of how to
function as a blind person. She went on to become a successful elementary
school teacher and a wife and mother. Today she is running a center to
train the oncoming generation of the blind. She learned; she lived what she
learned; and today she is giving to others, passing on not only her
knowledge but also her beliefs and dreams. Here is what she said at a
recent meeting of the National Federation of the Blind.
The Louisiana Center for the Blind gives to each of its students at their
graduation party a plaque, and on the bottom of that plaque it says,
"Together We Are Changing What it Means to be Blind." All of our students
know that that "together" means the National Federation of the Blind. It
means what has been done since 1940. It means the beliefs, the goals, and
the dreams of all of us. They know when they are in the Center, that it's
not just the staff, and it's not just the other students or the former
student or the Louisiana chapter. They know that it is the entire National
Federation of the Blind. They know that what they accomplish is in our
hopes, our beliefs, and our dreams. When they leave the Louisiana Center
for the Blind, they know that there is a whole structure behind them in the
form of the National Federation of the Blind. And most importantly, they
know that they must give back to that structure. They must give back to the
National Federation of the Blind and pass on the dreams and the beliefs and
the opportunities that they have received at the Louisiana Center for the
Blind.
The Louisiana Center for the Blind was started on October 1, 1985. We now
own our own classroom building and our own apartment complex, which the
students live in. We have students now coming to us not only from Louisiana
but from seven other states.
We teach cane travel, typing, Braille, home economics the usual courses
that are taught in rehabilitation centers. But beyond all that, we teach
genuine belief and hope and high expectations and confidence to our
students. We teach them that they truly can change what it means to be
blind.
One of the traditions that we have at the Louisiana Center for the Blind is
our freedom bell. We have a big old school bell (a hand-rung school bell)
that sits up in our Braille room. Throughout our short history, whenever a
student calls us with some success or some good news, when something very
important happens that affects all of us as blind people, we ring the
freedom bell. In the past few months we have rung the bell for George, who
called up and said, "I got my first check today from the naval base." We
rang the bell when Maria said, "I'm twenty-two years old, but this is the
first time I went out and bought a dress for myself."
We rang the bell when John, our young lawyer, came running in. He had
graduated from the program: "I haven't called my parents yet. I haven't
told my girlfriend yet. I am telling you first. I just got a job as a
lawyer."
We rang the bell after two trips down to the state legislature to work on
the Braille law. We rang the bell when we found that the Braille law indeed
got passed. We rang the bell for Lillian, who received her high school
graduation equivalency diploma, and for the many other students who
received their diplomas. We rang the bell when Nancy and John, two of our
former students, got married. We rang the bell when Lina and Jimmy had
their first baby. We rang the bell for our first play on opening night. We
rang our bell when the first crop came in from our garden, when we had our
first produce as blind people from our very own garden. We rang the bell
when all of our nervous and scared students got back from Mardi Gras, an
event that they had been dreading for weeks. They got through the crowds.
They got through the mobs and proved to themselves inside that they could
be successful, capable individuals.
We rang the bell when Maria was able to cross Bonner Street, a street which
she was scared to death to cross with a cane. We ring the bell when our
college students call in and say, "Hey, I passed a course, and I got a 3.0
average this semester."
We rang the bell when Patty passed her bar exam. She is now working as a
public defender in Shreveport. We rang the bell when Barry began managing
three restaurants in Shreveport, when A.J. got his vending stand, when Joie
got his factory job working for Boeing Aircraft, when Connie got a job as a
nurse, and when Yvonda successfully finished business school.
We rang the bell when our students successfully prepared and served a meal
for forty. We are about ready to ring it again. One of our students is
ready to go back to being an elementary school teacher and another back to
being a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico. We
have another student, who is about ready to graduate and go into child care.
We ring the bell when our students call up and say, "Hey, I was elected
president of our local chapter, or vice president," or "I just joined my
local chapter." We rang the bell when Zach and Sheena said, "We got
Pennsylvania and New Jersey to send us to you. We want good rehabilitation
training." We rang the bell when Chris lit her first fire on a camping trip.
These are all times when we rang the freedom bell, but the real truth is
what happens to our students. Here, in their own words, is what a few of
them have to say.
Zach Shore: My first day at the Center I went into cooking class, and I
asked my instructor, "What should I make today?" She said, "You are going
to bake Andrea's birthday cake today." I thought she was insane. I'd never
done that before, but she said, "You can do it." It really turned out to be
pretty good.
When I got to my cane travel class on my second day, my instructor said,
"Zach, I'm sending you out on a route today." He had me on the street on
the second day, and a wave of panic came over me. This teacher is obviously
a raving lunatic. I didn't think I could do it, but I did. I came back
safely, and my travel is getting better. The staff is very good. They
really care about us. They really push us to do what we don't think we can
do, and we find that we really can.
Tom Ley: I'm currently a senior at Louisiana Tech, majoring in mathematics
and physics education. Before attending the Center I had limited myself,
simply because I didn't have confidence in myself as a blind person if it
involved going into an unfamiliar situation or doing unfamiliar things.
After being there for only a month and a half, I could feel the limiting
bonds I had placed upon myself melting away, and my horizons expanding
about me. That's a gift I can never repay except by working as hard as I
can for the Federation and its goals.
Roland Allen: I completed my training at the Center about a year ago. When
I left, I felt that I gained several important things. But the most
important thing that I got from the Center was the fact that I have
accepted my blindness. When I first went to the Center, I had planned on
going to college, and I was real scared to go. I knew that I wouldn't make
it with the skills I had. After I left the Center, I felt confident that I
could get in there and do what I wanted to.
Cheryl Domingue: I, too, like Zach, when I first arrived at the Center,
thought that not only was the cooking instructor insane, but that they all
were insane having me do the things they wanted me to do. The thing I
thought was more horrifying than anything else was having a blind travel
instructor. I thought that was really crazy. But after a few days of being
there, and after seeing what all of the other students who had been there
for some time had done with themselves, and after I saw how well my blind
instructors were doing, I figured if they could all do it, so could I. I
didn't have any confidence in myself at all when I came to the Center but
now have all the confidence in the world in myself. I am now a college
student. I completed my first semester at the Nickel State University with
a 3.0 average. Without the support of my family and all the friends I have
made in the National Federation of the Blind, and especially my two
children (Sheila and Shawn) who are here with me, I could not have made it.
So there you have it. Let the freedom bell ring!
8. Adjournment
Bobbi A. L. Pompey
(336) 988-6375
bobbipompey at gmail.com
"Not everything faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it
is faced" James Baldwin
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